Simultaneous generation of droplets with different dimensions in parallel integrated microfluidic droplet generators

Wei Li; Edmond W. K. Young; Minseok Seo; Zhihong Nie; Piotr Garstecki; Craig A. Simmons; Eugenia Kumacheva

doi:10.1039/B712917C

Simultaneous generation of droplets with different dimensions in parallel integrated microfluidic droplet generators†

Wei Li,^a Edmond W. K. Young,^be Minseok Seo,^a Zhihong Nie,^a Piotr Garstecki,^d Craig A. Simmons^be and Eugenia Kumacheva*^ace

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* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

^b Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

^c Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3E5, Canada

^d Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, Poland

^e Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, 164 College Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
E-mail: ekumache@chem.utoronto.ca
Fax: +1 416 978 3576
Tel: +1 416 978 3576

Abstract

This paper describes geometric coupling of the dynamics of break-up of liquid threads in parallel flow-focusing devices (FFD), which are integrated into a multiple quadruple-microfluidic droplet generator (QDG). We show weak parametric coupling between parallel FFDs with an identical design, which leads to the slight broadening of the distribution of sizes of droplets. Using parallel FFDs with distinct geometries we simultaneously generated several populations of droplets with different volumes, yet, each of these populations was characterized by a narrow size distribution. Simulation of the generation of droplets in the quadruple-microfluidic droplet generator based on hydraulic resistances to the flow of a single-phase fluid was in good agreement with the experimental results.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/B712917C
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 22 Aug 2007
Accepted: 08 Nov 2007
First published: 06 Dec 2007

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Soft Matter, 2008,4, 258-262

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Simultaneous generation of droplets with different dimensions in parallel integrated microfluidic droplet generators

W. Li, E. W. K. Young, M. Seo, Z. Nie, P. Garstecki, C. A. Simmons and E. Kumacheva, Soft Matter, 2008, 4, 258 DOI: 10.1039/B712917C

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Soft Matter

Simultaneous generation of droplets with different dimensions in parallel integrated microfluidic droplet generators†

Abstract

Supplementary files

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Simultaneous generation of droplets with different dimensions in parallel integrated microfluidic droplet generators

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